A petition opposing the establishment of a strip club in Albury's CBD has drawn 230 signatures of support.
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It has been circulated over the past two weeks at Olive Health Foods and will now be presented to Albury Council, which will adjudicate on a planning application for the raunchy enterprise known as Emberz.
Health store proprietor Rachael Hart is concerned about the impact the strip club will have on her business and the wider community.
Emberz is earmarked for the former Sanctuary Salon and Day Spa premises in Olive Street which border the northside of Olive Health Foods.
"It's just not the place for it," Ms Hart said.
![Olive Health Foods proprietor Rachael Hart outside her shop with proposed site of a strip club in the background facing the Sanctuary sign. Picture by Tara Trewhella Olive Health Foods proprietor Rachael Hart outside her shop with proposed site of a strip club in the background facing the Sanctuary sign. Picture by Tara Trewhella](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XJLgPnEdnKaFugZzKyL6Sw/0bdaedf1-0679-48b8-a81d-cc4b30713271.jpg/r0_75_5650_3766_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"When you look at Albury-Wodonga, what sort of community do we want to be?
"Do we want its drawcard to be a strip club or do we want it to be a family-oriented community."
Ms Hart pointed to the potential for vandalism, anti-social behaviour and vomiting and said she would not feel safe visiting her business at night-time if a strip club was operating nearby.
She also noted she employed a number of local people and questioned whether the venue would be doing likewise.
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The petition argued such an establishment would be detrimental on the grounds of community wellbeing, economic impact, gender equality and safety.
It stated "the presence of a strip club can erode the sense of community" and "strip clubs often attract criminal activity and can lead to a decrease in property values, which can be detrimental to local businesses" whose patrons may avoid the area.
The petition declared "strip clubs perpetuate the objectification of women, perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes and inequalities, reinforcing harmful views and attitudes".
It then added "strip clubs have been linked to issues of human trafficking, drug abuse, other criminal activities".
The petition acknowledged "every business has the right to operate" before calling on the council to "act in the best interest of our community" and reject "the establishment of Emberz strip club in Albury".
Signatories to the petition cover various demographics, including the elderly, those with children and the religious-minded.
A number of people, who do not patronise Olive Health Foods, had visited just to add their names to the protest, Ms Hart said.
She said she only learnt of the proposal recently from speaking to a representative of nearby business Milkshake Candle Company and had no communication from council or her landlord.
"A lady came in about 12 months ago and asked about how I would feel about a strip club and I had a shop full of customers and asked her 'can you come back?' and she didn't," Ms Hart said.
"There are a few people out there who say it's not their cup of tea and have said they won't go there," Ms Dixon said.
"But a lot of people have said it's about time, Albury needs something like this."
It is proposed the licensed club would have operating hours of 7pm to 3am, with shots and glass not available after 11pm.
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